1 Corinthians 5 Footnotes

5:5 What did turning over the sexual offender “to Satan” mean? It was Paul’s code for excluding an unrepentant offender from the circle of redemption (the congregation) to the sphere where Satan dominated the children of Adam (the outside world), where this man indicated he really belonged. This exclusion, however, was redemptive in intent. Let the bitterness and darkness of the world outside bring its own impact on the man so that he might repent and be restored (see especially 2Th 3:6,14-15).